Researching International Law

by Annette Demers BA LLB MLIS

International Law

All resources mentioned today are available from the law library website: http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library

International Law

Public International Law – law between nations.

Sources

Article 38“1. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with International Law such disputes as are submitted to it,shall apply:

a. international conventions (Treaty Law) b. international custom (Not Discussed Today) c. general principles of law (Not Discussed Today) d. judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists;

Statute of the ICJ, 26 June 1945, Can TS 1945 no 7, Article 38, BTS 1946 no 67 (entered into force 24 October 1945. Ratification by Canada 09 November 1945).

Secondary Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”

BOOKS

Library CatalogueWorldCatHarvard

REFERENCE MATERIALS

Max Planck Encyclopedia of International LawOxford International Law DictionaryOxford Encyclopedia of Human RightsOxford Guide to Latin in International Law

Secondary Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Westlaw Canada -”WORLD-JLR”

Quicklaw -”Law Reviews, CLE, Legal Journals & Periodicals Combined” + ”All Canadian Legal Journals” + ”Law Reviews with International Focus” + “International Law Review Articles, Combined”

HeinOnline

Secondary Sources “Teachings of the Most Highly Qualified Publicists”

Working with Treaties

When doing research for International Treaties, you may need to know:

1. Where to find the full-text of the treaty.2. What is the status of the treaty?

-is it in force?-where was it signed and when?-what countries signed it?-what countries have ratified it?

Where to Find the Full-Text of a Treaty

Although a Google search may yield results, you always need to work from a copy that can be cited! Best place to look for Canada is:

Canada Treaty Series (print only)Step one: find the cite using Canada Treaty Information websitehttp://www.treaty-accord.gc.ca/index.aspxNote: The full-text of a few treaties is now being made available here as well.

You Try It! Use the Treaty Information website to locate the citation for this treaty:

“Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption”

Date and Place of Signature.

Date Canada ratified it.

Location in Treaty Series.

Try it!

Use the Canada Treaty Information website to find the citation to this treaty:

Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

Finding Treaties – Using UN Treaty Series Website

1. Every treaty and every international agreement entered into by any Member of the United Nations …shall as soon as possible be registered with the Secretariat and published by it.

No party to any such treaty or international agreement which has not been registered in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article may invoke that treaty or agreement before any organ of the United Nations.

Charter of the United Nations, 26 June 1945, Can TS 1945 No 7, Art 102, BTS 1946 No 67 (entered into force 24 October 1945. Ratification by Canada 09 November 1945).

Finding Treaties

United Nations Treaty Series – Free online at:https://treaties.un.org

Finding Treaties

This is the proper volume number

to use in your UNTS cite, see

slide 18.

This is a screenshot of the Table of Contents for the PDF in the previous slide.

This is the proper page number to use in your UNTS cite, see slide 18.

Citing Treaties

Title of Treaty Date of Signature

First Citation Parallel Cite Notation

Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption,

(29 May 2013) Can TS 1997 No 12, 1870 UNTS 167 (entered into force 1 May 1995, ratification by Canada 19 December 1996).

Date when treaty was first opened for signature – see Slide 16, line 6 (“Places/Dates of Conclusion”)

To Canada Treaty Series when discussing Canadian obligations.

If available. See McGill page E-89.

YOU TRY IT!

Use the UN Treaty Series Popular Names website to find out when this treaty was signed by the United Kingdom:

Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works

What do I do if I Find a Citation to a Treaty – How Do I Locate it?

Example:

Treaty Between the United States of America and the Republic of Uruguay Concerning Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment, 25 October 2004, 44 ILM 268.

Step One – figure out what ILM stands for!

Step 1: Locating Abbreviations

-Cardiff Index Online

http://www.legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk

or

Mary Miles Prince, Bieber’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, (Buffalo, N.Y.: W.S. Hein, 2001).

and

Christian L. Wiktor, Multilateral Treaty Calendar 1648-1995, (The Hague: M. Nijhoff Publishers, 1998).

Finding Treaties by Citation

Sample abbreviations:

ILM – International Legal MaterialsUNTS – United Nations Treaty SeriesCan TS – Canadian Treaty SeriesBFSP – British Foreign and State PapersComm – UK Command Papers

+ many others.

Canada Treaty Series – Print OnlyUnited Nations Treaty Series – OnlineInternational Legal Materials – Hein

US Treaties – QL, West, Hein

Locating Treaties

ILM and other Treaty Sources on Hein Online

Locating Treaties

Try it!

Use International Legal Materials on HeinOnline to locate this treaty:

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade – Multilateral Trade Negotiations (The Uruguay Round): Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, with annexes (1 to 4). 15 April 1994, 33 ILM 15.

How a Treaty is Made

1. Countries come together to negotiate; or a body such as the UNGA prepares a template.

2. Countries come together to sign the treaty. (The date and place of signature are both important pieces of information about the treaty.

3. If a country was not at the table at the date and place of signature, they may accede to the treaty at a later date.

4. The treaty must enter into force. The treaty itself will indicate how it enters into force.

Definitions

Accession: A country, who was not a party to the treaty at the date and place of original signing, may later accede to the treaty. The treaty itself will usually indicate by what means accession can be demonstrated.

The Statute of Rome which set up the International Criminal Court has an example for us:Article 120, section 3: "This statute shall be open to accession by all States. Instruments of accession shall be deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations."

“This Statute shall enter into force on the first day of the month after the 60th day following the date of the deposit of the 60th instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession with the Secretary – General of the United Nations.”

Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 18 December 1998, Can TS 2002 No 13, Art 126, 2187 UNTS 3 (entered into force 01 July 2002, ratification by Canada 07 July 2000).

Sample EIF Provision

How a Treaty is Made5. Countries must then ratify the treaty. “Instrument of ratification = a country’s formal confirmation, in writing, of its intention to be bound to a treaty.”

6. (For multilateral treaties) – The instrument of ratification is filed with the “Depository” or the “Registrar” for the treaty. Example, the US is the depository for the UN Charter.

7. (For bilateral treaties) – The instrument is signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and is delivered to the other party.

8. A party may also file reservations to the treaty. Other countries may choose whether or not to observe the reservations vis a vis their relationship with that country.

9. In Canada, ratification is exercised by the Executive, who prepare an Order in Council, issued by the Governor General.

10. In Canada, a treaty does not take effect until a statute has been passed by Parliament to implement, but see:

Definitions

Reservations: A unilateral statement, made by a State when signing, ratifying or acceding to a treaty, whereby it purports to exclude or modify the legal effect of certain provisions of the treaty with respect to its own obligations. In the course of their dealing under the treaty, other states may choose whether or not to recognize the reservations made by another nation.

Status of Treaties

Baker v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, [1999] 2 SCR 817 ¶ 7-11, 69-72, 76-77, 174 DLR (4th) 193.

69 “Another indicator of the importance of considering the interests of childrenwhen making a compassionate and humanitarian decision is the ratification by Canada of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the recognition of the importance of children’s rights and the best interests of children in other international instruments ratified by Canada. International treaties and conventions are not part of Canadian law unless they have been implemented by statute… I agree with the respondent and the Court of Appeal that the Convention has not been implemented by Parliament. Its provisions thereforehave no direct application within Canadian law. 70 Nevertheless, the values reflected in international human rights law may help inform the contextual approach to statutory interpretation and judicial review…”

To make arguments on the basis of a treaty, and to cite it properly, you may need:

Status Information Canada (Treaty Information website)

UNTS website“Status of Treaties”

Date and Place of Signature

yes yes

Date of Canada’s consent to be bound and how

yes yes

Date of ratification, if applicable

yes yes

Date of entry into force

yes yes

Canada’s implementation statute.

no no

Reservations filed no yes

International Judicial Decisions

Visit: http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library/267/researching-international-law#Judicial

Examples:International Court of JusticeEuropean Court of Human RightsInternational Criminal CourtICTR and ICTYand many others.

THANK YOU!

Annette Demersademers@uwindsor.ca

http://www.uwindsor.ca/law/library